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Man jailed in monument crash that hurt 4

A Grand Junction man was intoxicated and traveling nearly twice the speed limit when he crashed his car, injuring four people, while descending the west side of Colorado National Monument, according to an arrest affidavit.

Manuel Arias, 20, 559 N. Sparn Court, Unit 1, was advised Friday by County Judge Gretchen Larson that he has been charged with child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, eight counts of vehicular assault, driving under the influence of alcohol, careless driving causing bodily injury, and consumption of alcohol while operating a motor vehicle.

Arias was arrested Thursday on a Colorado State Patrol warrant that was issued July 26.

According to the affidavit, Arias admitted at the scene he was the driver of a Honda sedan that spun out of control while moving at 43 mph. The Honda crashed head-on into a rock retaining wall about 2 a.m. on July 18.

The posted speed limit on the road is 25 mph.

A trooper wrote in the affidavit that he drove up on a “blood-spattered vehicle” with a half-full bottle of whiskey on the passenger side door. Of the six passengers, four were deemed to have suffered serious bodily injury, according to the affidavit.

Arias told officers he drank at least four beers and a shot of alcohol just before the crash, in addition to smoking “half a joint.” He explained the accident by saying, “the girls were egging us on” as they descended Rimrock Drive.

“The road was wet, and the car wouldn’t turn. I blacked out when we hit,” Arias said, according to the affidavit.